Naseem Hamed long overdue for election to Boxing Hall of Fame

It's a travesty that Naseem Hamed was not long ago inducted into the International Boxing Hall of Fame.

The statistics would seem to speak for themselves. He was 36-1 with 31 knockouts. In 2003, he was voted one of the 100 hardest punchers of all-time by Ring Magazine. He was 10-1 with eight knockouts in title fights. He was the linear champion, meaning he beat the man who beat the man.

He was a charismatic, flamboyant character who attracted a lot of attention and brought huge crowds with him. Hamed was so big in his day that he appeared on "The Tonight Show with Jay Leno." Manny Pacquiao makes semi-regular appearances on ABC's "The Jimmy Kimmel Show," but it's not like the late night hosts are eager to book boxers as guests.

Hamed, though, gets a lot of opposition, not only from media but also from the fan base.

Most often mentioned is his loss to Marco Antonio Barrera in 2001 and the fact that he unquestioned ducked Juan Manuel Marquez. When adding up whether to vote for him, those are factors against his election, but they're far outweighed by all of his positives.

It's why Hamed is one of the five men I voted for out of the 30 modern candidates on the ballot for the 2015 class for the International Boxing Hall of Fame. I also voted for Dariusz Michalczewski, Genaro Hernandez, Gilberto Roman and Hilario Zapata.

There were a few fighters I had difficulty with, both for and against. But no fighter has been more controversial than Hamed since he first became eligible for induction in 2007.

Hamed won the WBO featherweight title on Sept. 30, 1995, and defended it successfully 15 times. He also won the WBC and IBF belts at various points along the way, but always kept the WBO belt until he dropped it shortly before fighting Barrera.

He lost in a one-sided manner to Barrera on April 7, 2001, in a bout for the IBO featherweight belt. He fought once more after that, defeating Manuel Calvo in an IBO title fight. His final record, if the two IBO bouts are considered, in world title fights was 17-1.

Some blast the level of his opposition, but he beat quality fighters such as Wayne McCullough, Kevin Kelley, Wilfredo Vazquez, Vuyani Bungu, Tom Johnson, Cesar Soto and Manuel Medina.

But in the eyes of many, Hamed's loss to Barrera should be enough to keep him out of the Hall of Fame. It's a ridiculous notion, but one many regurgitate regularly whenever the time comes up.

Barrera was one of the greatest fighters of all-time and losing to him was hardly a disgrace. Hamed's late trainer, Emanuel Steward, always said that Hamed didn't train well for the Barrera fight, for whatever reason. But whether he did or didn't doesn't matter; Barrera won deservedly.

But it was one fight out of a long career and came after a nearly six-year reign atop the featherweight division. Eliminating Hamed solely for the Barrera loss would be like not voting for Willie Mays because he struck out against Sandy Koufax with runners in scoring position.

I have more of a problem with Hamed for ducking Marquez when Marquez was his mandatory challenger for two years, but the sheer volume of good opponents that Hamed defeated makes up for it.

Hamed has more quality wins than a number of Hall of Famers, as well as other intangibles such as his legendary punching power, great showmanship and ability to attract a crowd.

As for other candidates, there were a number of qualified names, but voters are restricted to five. I really considered former undisputed heavyweight champion Riddick Bowe, but felt he didn't have enough quality wins.

Bowe was one of the best heavyweights I ever saw when he was at his peak, but he had too short of a run at the top. He defeated Evander Holyfield in two of their three fights, and that alone is a point in his favor for induction. But Bowe didn't really have those other big wins, and so I passed on him in favor of Genaro Hernandez.

Hernandez was regarded as the world's best 130-pounder during much of the 1990s. His only losses were to Hall of Famer Oscar De La Hoya and future Hall of Famer Floyd Mayweather Jr. He defeated 2004 Hall of Fame inductee Azumah Nelson and was 5-2-1 in title fights.

He suffered a badly shattered nose in his bout with De La Hoya that forced his trainer/brother, Rudy Hernandez, to stop the fight. But Hernandez was clearly in that bout and could have won had it continued.

But on average, I felt Hernandez had done enough and that his losses were against two of the greats of the game.